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Uncle Markie out and about.

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Thu
27
Aug '15

Trip Report: Breitenbush & Bend

I haven’t been to the Radical Faerie Gathering at Brietenbush Hot Springs in a couple of years, but since it was being put on by Lightning and DancingBear, thought I should give it a whirl. It’s a lovely spot up in the mountains an hour east of Salem, Oregon. These shots should give you an idea:

Above is the Main Lodge, belowis my cabin:

This summer I’m sharing the cabin with Mags and H.O. Though it’s totally against the rules, and probably because of that, there is a tradition of the afternoon cocktail party hosted by Punch, who, like his name, makes Punch every afternoon from a whole lot of fresh squeezed fruit and handles of booze. The turn “handle” is one I’d never heard before to descript ½ gallon (1.75liter) bottles of spirits — because they generally have handles.

In addition, Punch also put out things like hot sweet and sour meatballs and pulled pork sliders as an appetizer to our wholly vegetarian meal in the lodge. Thank you Punch! And for the curious, the buffet line in the lodge:

Gathering started on Wednesday and wrapped up Sunday – I was less participatory than usual, making it down to the lodge for lunch and dinner, doing part of the talent show and all of the auction/fashion show that I was in wearing my zebra lederhosen. I do have a people of my buddy Sierra wearing them before the gathering:

(See other posts for pictures of my in the zebra lederhosen.)

There is another tradition that I follow at “The Bush” – the ritual breakfast in town, this time with H2OBlanco, at the Cedars. I went for the biscuits and gravy, H2OBlanco, the steak and eggs:

Did I mention the Peach Bellini as well?

Sunday, prying H.O. from the gathering was a chore as he’d fallen ass over teacup for this guy from Portland – me, I just had a little fooling around on the couch in the lodge. It also meant that I had the double bed to myself for all but the first night.

But off we went to Bend on what turned into a fool’s errand. The original plan was to hook up with my buddies Stan and Denise, and then look at some old cars on the way out of town but H.O. started having serious stomach issues after our dinner down the road from the WorldMark Eagle Crest where we were staying. The place was Niblick & Greene’s. The meal was good, but it was just too much food for his skinny little system to handle.

I had the fish tacos, he went with the American Dip – and I SHOULDN’T have helped him finish the fries as that left me feeling bloated for the rest of the evening eating tums. Guess those would have been Freedom Fries to go with the American Dip


In the end, by the time morning rolls around, H.O. had been hurling all night and was travelling with his trusty Ziploc barf bag so I bailed on lunch and even bothering to stop and look at used cars – felt I needed to get the boy home and to his bed.

It was an interesting drive to Portland on Highway 26 – there was a stretch of 30-40 miles that was completely burned except for the houses that they managed to save. There was still smoke in the air from the fire two days ago.

Too funny that my wine shop business partner Jim and his girlfriend Suzanne (who were also visiting Stan and Denise) drove this road two days BEFORE the Warm Springs Fire and H.O. and I drove it two days afterwards.

The final photo of this post is of my other Portland area ritual – a burger and a glass of wine at Burgerville at the 1-5/1-205 interchange in Vancouver, Washington.

I had the Pinot Noir because I hadn’t tried it – other times it’s been the Merlot which I think was a better match. All of their wines are from local Oregon wineries. Classy touch for a burger joint.

Got H.O. delivered to Everett, then headed back to Seattle to unpack and start load after load of laundry.

[213.6]

Wed
25
May '16

Trip Report: Overnight On The Crown Princess With Friends

Another week, another trip – this one is an overnight that has been made VERY easy thanks to Punch (and Jon) because they rented a one-way SUV from Seattle to the Vancouver Cruise Terminal. And I got to sleep in the far back seat the whole way (other than the border)!

We were in the regular lane because only two of us have the gilded “Nexus” card to speed entry into Canadaland – but it wasn’t too bad.

Compared to the lines to check-in, security screening, passport control. There were three boats at the terminal – maximum capacity, and they FINALLY seem to have figured it out. Not much waiting, and if so, chairs. Of course Punch (who had to return the rental car) actually found the Global Entry line as wasn’t much further behind us.

But before lone (hour start to finish, which with three boats is AMAZING), we are checked in, on board, and still have time for a sit-down lunch rather than dealing with the masses at the buffet:

I did a combination of breakfast (eggs benedict) and lunch (insalada caprese) – and that would be a Manhattan in the background.

We’d dropped bags – between the five of us, we have three rooms. Punch and Jon in one (not sure size), Salamander and I in theory sharing an inside cabin, and DancingBear with a balcony that I’m sharing with him. I should have kept my mini-suite (Barb, my travel agent for cruises, questioned my judgement considering how cheap it was – and she was correct). But the view from the balcony isn’t bad:

Like I said, there were three boats in port, here is the Oceania across the terminal:

And leaving port:

Guess we could have taken the float plane to Seattle!

But this looks more comfortable:

And the surroundings:

That would be the Loin’s Gate Bridge in Vancouver, BC, and me almost under it!

Random scenic shots from the one-night cruise:

No LGBT on the Princess Patter Schedule tonight – DISAPPOINTING since I know there are 30+ aboard. Yep – it went on the Princess Comment Form.

I was full from an afternoon snack, so we skipped dinner and joined up with the gang for the “Magic” show:

No show is complete without cocktails!

Or entertainers!

But hunger caught up with me (and others) later…ROOM SERVICE. Not sure we needed SEVEN entrees at midnight….

But somehow they all went away…

The morning found me in pain – food overdose, too much booze – and a mandatory “breakfast” with the rest of the boys. The concept is that it’s a better dollar/value proposition is you get three sit-down meals rather than two. Luckily, the pain of disembarkation was minimal, the cab ride back to DancingBear’s place fairly painless, the traffic light, and the 2.5 hour nap before work, WONDERFUL.

I might be losing my taste for these overnight cruises – even if they do fill my mini-bar for free and give me $75 in on-board credit (paid for the four bottles of duty-free).

[214.0]

Sat
21
Dec '13

Walking Wounded.

That’s how I felt this morning… the head cold thing not getting better. Luckily I close rather than open.

The tasting today was sparsely attended and not much of the tasting wines sold – could be that since we didn’t have a rep to flog the stuff with wonderful tales of eccentric winemakers, etc. that people just weren’t buying. Or maybe everybody was in the last minute gift frenzy at the mall – god help them – it’s the last place I’d want to be.

That said – total sales today were GREAT. Go figure – end of the day was 6’s and 12’s walking out the door. It helped that a couple of people can to pick up their special orders, including a case of bubbles at about $800.

Even though I wasn’t feeling my best – I did stop in for an hour at Joe and Ross’s Christmas Party. All of our schedules are so crazy that sometimes it’s the only time during the year that I see them.

Ross made his usual “Big Boy Punch” which he claims kicks a big punch:

I think it’s just an excuse to get out the punch bowl. I packed them a little present from the shop – in a red 2-bottle box, which went perfectly with their 50’s Red Electric Tree:

It was fun to see the boys, and to catch up with mutual friends, and flirt with others of their friends… but an hour of talking, when you already have a raspy throat – maybe not the best of ideas.

Off to bed for me.

[209.4] Four pounds up from when I left on the last trip. Sigh.

Thu
16
Aug '12

The Gathering In Full Swing.

The downside to hosting a cocktail party is the morning cleanup of glass and plastic-ware.

And those big goblets in the window are truly a pain to wash as they don’t quite safely fit in the handicapped sink meaning I have to wash them in the shower with its puny water pressure.

Here is a little sampling of some of the campers:

Didn’t leave the circle for the rest of the evening, missing dinner and a showing of a rough edit of The Big Joy Project, a documentary about the life and times of James Broughton, famous gay poet.

I’d seen an earlier cut and really didn’t want to be hit up for money after the showing which I assume is what happened (since it always does).

One of my neighbors, Punch, even showed up with a leg of ham that he was carving off for people. Damn good, but damn salty. Many trips during the night for liquids.

And yes, he brought a juicer for making his famous rum punch.

Another late evening of fun.

[? ? ?]

Sat
18
Jan '14

Long Day In Many Different Venues.

Off the boat at a little after nine to stand in line as three immigration people try and process a large cruise ship.

Then onto the bus for LAX – actually had some time to hang in the lounge before my un-upgraded trip to Portland.

Portland had enough time for me to get the postings done for the wine shop on the various sites we post to:

  • Our website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter (happens automatically when I post to Facebook
  • Central District Community Calendar
  • The Juice (aka LocalWineEvents.com)

Not bad for having only 45 minutes to make this happen.

Got to Seattle – off to the baggage claims offer to see about getting my bag fixed – bottom line is that unless I wanted to empty it right then and there is was either bring it back empty or take it to Southcenter and their authorized repair shop. Guess what I’m doing tomorrow….

Next up was get my car out of the garage and head to the T-Mobile store to see what’s up with my phone. Short story is no phone until Monday – but I did buy an adapter so I can use my mini-SIM in my old 3G phone.

And then there is tonight’s date with Jill at the Living Computer Museum. For $5 it was an open bar, wine tastings, passed nibbles – not a bad deal at all. As for Jill it was a trip down memory lane as she grew up in the computer labs that her father worked in. Here are some photo highlights:

I used the punch card maker to make a custom card for me:

It says, “Uncle Markie is a lush who likes asthmatic hockey players”. Too bad I misspelled asthmatic.

Arrived home exhausted from a long day.

[? ? ?]

Sat
27
Jun '20

Trip Report: Road Trip To The Woods

After three and a half months of being in my own bed every night, what a joy to take a road trip!

Hatched the idea on Sunday, with an email to my friends that run the Quillayute River Resort outside of Forks, Washington. Enquired about how their occupancy was since they reopened a month ago. Usually, they are completely full in the summer – but not this year. They have as many guests as they can handle with the enhanced cleaning (4 hours per unit). There was room at the inn for me!

Had I taken the ferry, it would have been less driving, and if I timed it right, about the same amount of time plus $16.00 each way since my car is under 14′, $20.40 – BUT, they aren’t sailing on their full schedule, so if you miss it, the boat is full, you wait around for another hour plus. The sun was out – and I was looking forward to driving … anywhere!

The resort has changed to a contactless check-in system so you can go directly to your room, punch in a code, and bingo. Here are some of the pics of the place:

There are six suites (one two-bedroom, the rest, one-bedroom), arranged in a shotgun style, with garages between each unit to there are no common walls with your neighbors. The garages are for housekeeping, guest laundry, lawn maintenance equipment, etc.

There is a main check-in building/front desk area that in other times would be open to the public (lending library, etc.). The owners live upstairs.

Suites in the summer are in the low $200 a night range, winter, half that. That said, you get a lot of bang for your buck in addition to the beautifully cared for grounds. Check out in suites themselves:

Gas fireplaces, comfy furniture.

Memory foam mattresses (either king or two doubles), heated bathroom floors.

Kitchen will all the gear you need to cook, like pots & pans, glasses (including wine glasses), coffee maker (with coffee!) and an electric kettle for tea lovers, olive oil, spices, etc. I would have killed for this place as a college student!

Nice touches include fast charging outlets in the kitchen at usable height, wireless (and wired) routers in all the units, flatscreen TVs in the bedroom with a massive DishTV lineup – and if you have a Tesla, there is a charging pod with two cords in the parking area.

If you look as the number of “high-touch” items in the kitchen, it explains why it takes 4 human hours to clean the units between guests. Gone are the books, puzzles, cards in the room. All the silverware is boiled (and allowed to cool so it can be put away), all the dishes/glassware/cookware gets a water/bleach dip, all the linens down to the mattress pads get laundered, packed, and spend three days in quarantine before they are used again. It also explains why they block off a unit for a day between guests.

The day I arrived, the owners (longtime friends) were off for a 12-mile first hike of the season. It was just nice to chill by the river, make a little dinner, have a little whiskey and wine (not in the same glass).

Panko-breaded Portuguese Sausage SPAM, mac and cheese, green salad, Bonny Doon Vin de Gris rosé.

Fortunately, the next night they invited me to a socially distanced dinner complete with appetizers in the main lodge. I brought the wine – more Bonny Doon, including a magnum of the 2008 Le Cigare Volant. In normal times, the lodge is used for weddings, meetings, etc., with it’s full catering kitchen.

They fired up their wood-fired oven for me!

And voila! Pizza!

They have been using the wood-fired oven in the kitchen even before the interior was done on the main lodge – in the past they have made other pizzas, fresh pita bread. Amazing.

It had been too long since I’d been out to visit – probably a year and a half. Left them a couple of versions of my brandy as a thank you. The food and the conversation that distanced evening was so heart-warming, I should have left them a case!

My return to the city started out with mist (but I still had the top down), and a return to the resort ten miles out because I’d left one of my bags, but eventually made it home. Would have been quicker, but there was a massive accident in Tacoma. But home is home.

[226.6]

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Sun
7
Jul '19

Trip Report: Return From The Big Apple

One of the downsides of the Wyndham New York Midtown is the 10am checkout. It’s a serious drag to get packed up, bags put in storage for the afternoon since my flight isn’t until 6:30.

Caught an early lunch with Russ (11:30am, when they opened) at The Grand Central Oyster Bar – close to where Russ works, and just a couple of blocks from the condo. About 11:15 a line started forming…

Nothing like a breakfast Beefeater Martini…

Followed by oysters…

Followed by Lox Eggs Benedict….

Great way to finish a trip to NYC with Russ:

Found this picture of both Russ and Ranger Sierra after the last post, so, randomly, here it is:

Back to the condo for the bags, then back to Grand Central to catch the train to JFK…

Got slightly misdirected getting to the airport, but finally found my way – though I was sweaty when I arrived, and not to the terminal I was leaving from. I wanted to see the new TWA Hotel, the 60’s JFK icon repurposed into a hotel. Downside is that the JetBlue terminal it’s attached to is a long walk from the SkyTrain.

They are still working through the last bits of the Punch List, but it’s a cool space, though underutilized, and a long haul walking (especially with luggage). They should pick up a couple of Checker Aeroporters and runs a shuttle from all the terminals. I couldn’t check my bags until four hours before my flight, so I was plenty tired by the time I hit check-in (which, thankfully, was quick). This should give you an idea why…

As I was in the short line I got a text that my plane was now delayed by at least four hours…though about going back to the TWA Hotel for a cocktail in the restored Connie, but I was done walking any further than the lounge.

Nice office, right? And great plane spotting! A BA 747 in the retro-BOAC livery.

And their usual livery…

And then all the random national airlines like Air Serbia, and Aerolineas Argentinas…

If there is a silver lining about the flight delay, it’s that I looked on-line, and they swapped aircraft. I was supposed to be on old Virgin America metal, now I’m on one of new NEO’s with the updated interior…and the new First Class seats!

And on the flight we have a boat load up high school juniors on our flight:

Not that I care, since with the new interior, there are 16 first class seats as opposed to 8 – and I got one!

And the new interior!

And it came with dinner – which is good because the lounge shut down at 10pm – and they’d pulled the soup and salad at eight.

I was surprised that they had DigiPlayers on board, thought those were being phased out. Ended up watching The Aftermath – set in WWII. Worth watching, though not a light drama.

Didn’t get to bed until 2:45am, but actually managed a couple of hours of sleep on the plane – a rarity.

[213.2]

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Wed
28
Mar '18

Trip Report: Another Return Home

Early, but not wretchedly early flight from Nagoya to Tokyo…8:30am.

The plan was to have breakfast in the Japan Air Lines lounge rather than the hotel. I should have had a little something at the hotel since the lounge was comfortable, but underserved in the food category:

One the upside – look, it’s a machine that dispenses highballs (whiskey and soda) AND beer!

Guess which one I went for, though I used better whiskey than was in the machine:

Nagoya is a nice airport…

But this doesn’t look like enough people to fill a 787…

So, once again, a HUGE airplane for a 45-minute flight (think Seattle to Portland). And again, my seat was listed as “Economy”, which if this is economy, I’ll take it!

But with only enough time to get some of their “signature” Kiwi Punch. Looks like a radioactive urine sample to me.

It wasn’t long before I was in Tokyo’s Narita Airport for a six-and-a-half-hour layover. Long enough to get bored, not long enough to leave the airport and do something even though I had to go back through security.

Fortunately, the Japan Air Lines lounge in Narita is MUCH better – including a second-floor cafeteria…

Which yielded these plates over the course of the day…breakfast:

And lunch:

At least I could get some work done…

Hours later I was able to board the flight to Vancouver (when you use miles for Business Class, you take whatever routing they give you):

Not as private as on the way over, but not bad.

But the dinner was excellent:

As was the meal before landing:

Watched an interesting Vietnamese movie with some vague homosexual undertones…

And availed myself of the bidet in the airplane bathroom…

Had to do customs and immigration into the US in Canada, which meant that I could have brought back unlimited amounts of alcohol, but I already had two carry-ons because of my gift purchases. Lounge in Vancouver was mediocre, so much so that I didn’t even get a picture (though I did get two cocktails).

By mid-afternoon I was back in Seattle, preparing a meal for Jonathan and myself, including fresh baked bread.

Doesn’t everyone do that after they’ve been travelling for 24 hours?

[? ? ?]

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Mon
12
Feb '18

Trip Report: Hawaii – Part Three

Our final day on Oahu finds me sleeping in again, and Rache exploring. This pattern works well for us.

Our morning chore is to get out of the room by noon and get to the airport to pick up our rental car for our island tour – which looked something like this:

We added a couple of stops, like the cemetery at Punch Bowl:

This would be between Waikiki and stop number two on the map, the Pali Lookout, where it was windy as hell!

Next, we backtracked on the map to see the view from Hanuama Bay, which was closed to swimming because of tidal action. On the map, it’s at the lower right hand corner:

Then headed up the windward side of the island:

We made a quick stop and L&L BBQ, where I had the Kaluai Pork Sandwich:

I’d hoped to make it all the way to Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck – but I couldn’t hold out, hunger-wise. When we finally made it there, we split a garlic shrimp:

After that, it was a couple of stops at famous surfing beaches on the North Shore:

Again, lots of chop on the water, so not many surfers with all the orange flags up.

We made it back to the airport with four plus hours before out flight, which we needed because Rache’s phone rang as we were about to return the rental car. Someone had found his wallet under the picnic table at Giovanni’s. They’d tracked down his brother, who called his neighbor, who went over to have his roommates call and tell him. Amazing detective work by a mother/daughter team staying out by Turtle Bay (beyond Giovannis).

Forty-five minutes back to the North Shore, a wallet reunion, forty-five minutes back to the airport, more gas in the car before returning it.

I don’t think this much stuff has gone missing on a trip, EVER!

We still had time to chill in the American/Japan Airlines Lounge before our flight – but not as much as I’d planned.

Heavy on the ramen…

But the bathrooms had heated toilet seats with water!

It was a red-eye flight home. Sadly, no upgrade to first, but we were in Premium, and I managed to get some sleep.

Gotta work the next two days. Sigh.

[222.8]

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Sat
16
Dec '17

Trip Report: The Train Home

Thanks to an extra car at the house, I was able to drive myself to the train station in Lamy (LMY), and just lock the keys in the truck. VERY convenient.

Lamy used to have a great restaurant, sadly, closed, since Lamy is in the middle of nowhere.

I always show up early – an hour early. But the train is on time!

And soon, I was onboard:

I’m on the lower level in a roomette for the trip to Los Angeles…

Next stop is Albuquerque – where we had about 45 minutes…and time for me to get a hot dog!

Settled in, it’s just watching the countryside rolling by…..

And then it was time for dinner!

I went for the Land and Sea. That would be a steak and a seafood cake:

I always get my dessert to go, because the meals are so big – but about 9PM I need a snack…

The whipped cream looked better an hour ago…then it’s on to cocktails…

Life is hard on the train – especially if you need a smoke break, which I don’t. But nice to have a cocktail on the platform at Flagstaff.

Off to bed as it’s up at 5AM for breakfast and then back to bed before we pull into LA.

And that’s when it all went to shit. Nothing like an email from Amtrak saying…

Our records indicate that you are scheduled to depart on Amtrak train number 14 from Los Angeles, California at 10:10AM on Thursday December 7 and arriving in Seattle (King St. Station), Washington.

That schedule has been cancelled due to a service disruption. There is no alternate service available. To speak to a customer service representative about travel options such as selecting another date or destination call us at 877-231-9448 at your earliest convenience.

We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for being a valued Amtrak customer.

I love the phrase, “There is no alternate service available.”

My response was to go the Sleeping Car Lounge on the second floor of the LA train station – where there is a real person, with real powers. And more importantly, answers.

And the answer was – yes, we will get you there. Bus to Bakersfield, San Joaquin to Emeryville, meet the Coast Starlight and actually get into my bedroom.

Here is a map to show you the route:

Up the middle was my route…not the coastal route to the left. I did get to see the Central Valley – the vegetable basket of America.

But it was on a bus…

Which they actually provided water, chips, snack box, and even a 6-inch sandwich from Subway:

Managed to get an hour or two of sleep before we hooked up with the San Joaquin:

If there is a silver lining to this “service disruption”, it’s that I have a 2+ hour layover in Emeryville which means I have time to have dinner with Mark and Onyx at Los Molés restaurant in Emeryville:

It was an unexpected pleasure – I’ll see the boys in a week or so in Seattle, but always nice for a random visit.

Before I knew it, it was back to the station:

And into my bedroom unit. It was late when I boarded, so the Car Attendant had already made up both beds. I usually go for just the upper, but it was nice to have a four-foot-wide bed to roll around in. And yes, he brought me a bucket of ice:

It’s a little crowded with both beds down.

Much more comfortable with the bed up:

Nothing like a sunrise in the Cascades…

Again, it was up at 6:30, eat breakfast, back to bed. Hard to turn down free meals. But I was up for lunch, where I took a chance on the steamed mussels:

I was pleasantly surprised. I would have used coconut milk, ginger, and lemon root, but for being on a train, it was good. Yes, I’m drinking Merlot with the mussels!

Just before Portland is Oregon Falls, site of an old paper mill I visited in my Microsoft days….

Dinner was even better (though a tad early for me – 5:30, because of our arrival time). On the Coast Starlight, you can dine solo in the Parlour Car (though this one was actually a bi-level café car since the Parlour Car was in the shop). I would have gone back for the steak, but the Braised Lamb Shank is the STAR of this route.

Train arrived early – I was home by 8:30.

Time to relax, and start the process of trying to get some of the points back for the bedroom that I didn’t have for 24 hours.

  • Call One – to the number on the “you are screwed” notice. Sorry, you completed the trip, and since it was on points, you need to contact Amtrak Guest Rewards.
  • Call Two – Amtrak Guest Rewards, you need to contact Customer Relations, which is only open Monday-Friday 6am to 9pm Monday to Friday, and no, there isn’t a direct line. Call 1-800-USA-RAIL, punch 0 a couple of times, ask the agent to transfer you.
  • Call Three – wait for Monday to roll around, get through to Guest Relations, file a claim to which they say they will email off. NO direct resolution.

At least they were quick – the next day 7,000 points were back in my account – which I think is a little shy of what I’m deserves for 1/3 of time in a sleeper that cost me 33,776 points. Might need to bitch some more.

That said, the “service disruption” was serious – it was the California wild fires that shut down the coastal route. I actually found a video clip shot from the tracks that the train runs – and the flames are close, and days later, I figured out how to embed the video from USA Today:

That’s it for this adventure – only one more for the year, but I’ll do a yearly travel update before the end of the year.

[223.4]

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Mon
28
Dec '15

Trip Report: Ruby Princess With Rache

It seems like it was only a couple of weeks since I was on the Ruby Princess – wait – it WAS just a couple of weeks ago!

New partner this time, and a different itinerary, but with all the same stops, just in the opposite direction.

Now – just point the arrows in the other direction – I couldn’t find a graphic for our trip, and it seems that next late summer they are making other stops coming down the coast.

Our trip started with an early morning Amtrak ride to Vancouver, BC where I spied this “private car” parked at King Street Station. It is the Silver Rapids, part of the California Zephyr fleet. They mostly rent out the cars to parties, tours, etc., though they do some of there on tours as well – check on this page – but sit down before you read the prices.

As for Rache and I, we didn’t have such luxury, but they did assign us four seats in Business Class which was nice and roomy.

I do wish they would run a mid-day train. Getting into Vancouver at noon means waiting around the condo until our room is ready. Luckily it was at 2:30 rather 4pm which is the real check-in time. The extra time allowed me a nap in the rec room, Rache a walking tour of the city, lunch and grocery shopping for both of us.

Once we got into the 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit, the view was lovely – we even had one of the rare units that has a tiny balcony:

Dinner tonight is with Solus+, a longtime friend (and dinner companion.

Solus+ is on the left, Rache is on the right. Great dinner of chicken thighs poached in Salsa Verde, a nice salad, loaf of bread, two bottles of wine (rosé to start, then red), and amazingly a bottle and a half of bourbon. Rach claims (rightly so) that it was Solus+ and I who did the most damage to the bourbon.

Out of the condo a little before noon, cab to Canada Place and a relatively smooth boarding process. I’m afraid I’m spoiling Rache with Business Class on the train (first through immigration/customs), Elite passenger check-in a boarding for the Ruby Princess, and the mini-suite that we got for $179 plus $45 port fees per person. I can’t believe I didn’t take any shots of the interior; you can find them here on the previous trip on the Ruby. Here is the layout from Princess:

Of course, you’d have to flip our, but that’s basically it, except double the size of the deck since we were the last cabin on the side:

Since we were actually on before 1pm, we actually got to do a sit-down lunch! Tasty!

And, of course, we had to have dessert…both of which were EXCELLENT:

No shots of the mandatory life-boat drill. Rache got some so maybe I’ll link to his trip report at some point.

The boat was all decked out for Christmas:

As was Vancouver, BC:

Before you knew it was we’re departing, passing under the Lions Gate Bridge:

Then quickly off to the LGBT gathering set for 5:30 in the Adagio Lounge, deck 16 aft:

There were at least 25 of us who showed up – the group pictured I’ve been on other cruises with – probably upwards of 10 previous cruisers – seems there are a lot of us who like the little under a week cruises.

When 7pm approached, a couple of the ring leaders invited us next door to SHARE, a Curtis Stone (LA restaurant guide whose restaurant, Maude, is in Beverly Hills) venture. They’d gotten a tabel for eight. What the hell, opening night, new restaurant put in while the Ruby was in dry dock – I’ll swallow the $39 (per person) upcharge.

And, oh my god, the food. There were enough of us that we got to try EVERYTHING on the menu:

Said menu:

By the time all the dishes started coming out it became clear that there wasn’t going to be a cover charge for us tonight – I celebrated by ordering a $48 bottle of wine.

Truly a stunning meal – I wa even more stunned when I realized that the wine was going to be comped as well. Had I know that, I would have suggested the following pairings:

Shramsburg Brut Rosé (California) for the charcuterie platter

Boutari Moscofilero (Greece) for the starters

Patz & Hall (California) & Ridge Vineyard Lytton Springs Zinfandel for the mains

Punch reviewed the resaturant at 2am after dinner – by the morning, it had 2,000 views, by afternoon 5,000 views… read the thread here. First post is the about half the menu, scroll down for the rest of it.

But, then, of course we had to go see some of the entertainment…

Something about “Colors Of The World” or some such thing…kept us amused until it was time to return to the cabin be explore how the pull down bed worked.

Of course, you have to have a “special key” to drop the bed down, but I happened to have one in my suitcase – it’s called an “emergency tool”:

Good for beds, electrical cabinets, hose bibs, random screws…

There is a “downside” of a wonderful meal of shared plates – at 3am you are starving, and unfortunately room service is merely a phone call away – and oh, did we order:

Because, of course, by 3am, all the ice had melted – that would be “Ice – Bucket Of” – if you look two pictures up, you can see Rach ordering the above (as seen in the mirror). I didn’t need really need breakfast when IT showed up at 9am. I went back to bed.

Onboard, you can always see where you are (and there is always “The Love Boat” on one of the channels):

At that moment, I was basically off my brother and sister-in-law’s places in Coos Bay/Corvallis – but this was my view:

The weather is starting to get a little better, at least no rain. I REALLY like this extra large balcony!

Another think about cruise ships is that they like to carve things, luckily not the guests. This was from the Elite Lounge on night two where it was salmon (most likely farm raised) on toast points with capers and Bermuda onions.

You should see what they do with a watermelon!

Another BIG gathering at the Adagio Lounge for the LGBT gathering – more cocktails, after we’d finished the cocktails brought from our suite…and then it was off to dinner – which the queue up for the dining room was MASSIVE so we opted for the buffet on the Lido Deck. My meal:

Not bad, but I prefer sit-down service – but hunger trumped waiting.

The entertainment for tonight was “The Uncle Markie Show” – featuring yours truly posing on a pedestal meant for a poinsettia:

And then there was tragedy on the “dis-mount”:

I hit the marble with a thud, and suddenly there were four Princess staff swarming in – luckily I’m padded (and was lubricated). Of course, I need a room service bacon cheeseburger to ease the pain. Please notice the absence of fries (bucket of ice not shown):

Our final day at sea was STUNNING – and made the balcony more worth it.

This give a nice idea of how big out balcony was, and these too give you an idea of how the weather was:

Another well attended (25+) gathering of the LGBT crowd – not bad considering that this isn’t a “gay” cruise:

No shots of dinner, just a couple of shots of dessert:


We shot for another show after dinner and I made it through ½ of one song – it was like a bad junior-high-school musical. I abandoned Rache to go grab another cocktail from the room, but walked past the remodeled Wheelhouse which now has another “upcharge” restaurant called “Salty Dog Gastro Pub” and found “the boys” trying out the other new venue:

Technically, that’s one of the waitresses in my puss print Santa hat.

And the menu – mind you, I was just eating the lukewarm leftovers which still weren’t bad!

Sigh, out last night aboard, and our final shot of the post. Moon off the balcony…

We had to vacate the cabin before 8am – but we had squirrelled away muesli, bananas and yogurt so we didn’t have to brave the morning buffet line or have a lackluster final sit-down meal.

Reporting to the Elite Disembarkation Lounge (thankfully in Club Fusion, one deck below so we didn’t have to brave the elevators) we had a little coffee, juice, pastries, though not enough for the MASSIVE delay in getting off the board. The phrase “clusterfuck” comes to mind. When we got to the lounge boarding groups were running 20 minutes early – always a good sign. And then there was the announcement. “There will be a delay in disembarkation, we will have details soon.”

We were an hour late disembarking, then another hour in line for customs. It seems that MANY of the passengers decided to ignore their designated times and swamped the customs/immigration lines. This seems to be a problem with cruises between Los Angeles and Vancouver. I hear even worse stories of cruises terminating or ending on Hong Kong. Must be a cultural thing. Serious points off to Princess for not checking people’s disembarkation numbers

Add another hour waiting for people to get to the airport transfer, and I’m starting to stress out. Our flight is at 1:25pm and I’d planned on getting a couple of hours of work in at the airport in the Board Room. By the time we got checked in and through security (EVEN with TSApre for both of us) I barely had time to slurp down two cups of soup, a salad, and a couple of drinks.

We were number one on the upgrade list, but First was stacked full, at least I had the seat next to me open, and we both got a free cocktail (me for my MVP Gold Status, Rach’s from the middle seat MVP who didn’t want hers).

A wonderful trip marred at the end, but still a fun way to spend five days.

[215.6]

Mon
9
Nov '15

Trip Report: Sunshine Coast of British Columbia

Friends of mine (Hummingbird & BamBam) bought a Greek Orthodox Church & Hermitage on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.

But first I have to get there – and with the ferry on the tail end, decided to stop at the WorldMark Blaine. After dinner I have a Friend from Bellingham stopping by for a bit – student, so it’s a quick visit. Hopefully he’ll like the place:

The view – earlier and later.

And the interior:

Not bad for $56 for the night – 2-bedroom condo with a fireplace and a view – made myself a nice steak dinner, and breakfast for the boy since he was famished from studying all day.

Had the offer to do “The Owner Re-education” for breakfast and some money – passed – made breakfast for myself and headed north.

Stopped at duty-free and got a really good deal – my punch card from Pac-Can Duty Free was full – meaning $10 off on my $22 Jack Daniels 1.14 liter bottle. No THAT’S a deal. And even better – NO ONE in line, either NEXUS or regular – it was like the zombie apocalypse had passed through.

Another hour and I was in line at the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale – and the boys.

And the Indian Vegetarian Snack Stand in the parking lot.

Welcome to the jumping off point to hippy land. And the view is nice….

And a little snack that is NOT on the diet plan – wanted the soft drink, came with fries:

The approach to the island….

The boys are pretty close to the harbour (since I’m now in CanadaLand, I’ll use the Canadian spelling)…this is the Hermitage where I’m staying (4-bedrooms, full kitchen):

The church is down the hill, which, oddly, I didn’t get any pictures – complete with chapel and monastic “cells”, though the boys sleep in a more standard size bedroom. Here is the view from my deck:

This is why they call it the Sunshine Coast:

I had the Hermitage to myself except during the days for meals – which we ate together in the cat-free Hermitage. There was Tobias (Toby) that followed the boys everywhere:

Yep, that’s a whippet – strangely a whippet that has never raced which is a rarity – most are rescue dogs, a lot from Spain.

Good meals, good times:

 

In the morning (late) it was off to town on an errand run… and lunch! Off to Gibbons we go through the fog:

Lunch is in the old part of Gibsons….

Cute little town, complete with a sushi restaurant (our choice after checking out the menus of the places that were open). That would be Sushi Bar Nagomi.

We both got the “box set lunch special” for $10 CAD – with BamBam getting the noodle salad option, and me getting the gyoza option – both came with Miso Soup and a California Roll. $9 for the large Saké. I love their FaceBook review sign in the window: “No Tempura, No [Something Else], Just Fresh Seafood.” True it was.

Back to the house for dinner – just staying the two nights. But not before a little Jinga:

Yep – open floor plan!

Lamb Roast on a bed of potatoes, salad, blood of Christ.

And before you knew it, I was on the road back to Seattle, straight through so I can get ready for dinner with friends on Friday.

[219.8]

Sun
2
Nov '14

Activity Report: My Week At Home

This was a stay at home week for me, between last week’s trip to Santa Fe and next week’s cruise to Mexico. Did I lay around and eat all the Halloween candy? Nope, it was project week.

Project Number One: Vermouth Rack For The Shop

Madrona Wine Merchants is less than 500-square-feet, yet we have over 650 different brands that we stock, and we’d like to stock more, so we need to get creative with our shelving. In this case I had to build a shelf unit to go over a small rack of white wines that has a water pipe running through it.

The finished project, with a little bourbon and ginger spilled on it:

And installed in the shop:

Project Number Two: Behind The Counter Storage Rack

If you ever have looked behind the counter at Madrona Wine Merchants, it’s a jumble of stuff randomly packed in. My quest is that before the Holiday Rush that we get a little more organized so we can find things quickly. Hence, this odd organizer that I built to extend the cash wrap to the post where the vermouth is now hanging. The drawers are made from wood salvaged from the tops of wooden wine boxes that we occasionally get in:

And installed at the shop:

Project Number Three: Install Back Board For 1A2 Analog Phone System & KSU (Key Service Unit)

I’m upgrading my “Mad Men” style analog phone system so that all four phones will have lights and the ability to mechanically put calls on hold. This, of course, means actually putting in more infrastructure than just the KSU that I currently have which is only wired up for one phone – this one:

And here is what the infrastructure looks like:

And I still have to pull all the wires under the house before the “punch-down” can begin.

And then there is the social side of a week home…

Sunday night dinner with Bliss, Monday night dinner with Wonderful, Josh, and Jill:

Tuesday night dinner with former neighbor Emily, current neighbor Paula (who was air rescued out of the woods a couple of weeks ago after getting lost hiking with her two dogs), and Jonathan after installing the new 42″ flat screen that I picked up for $299 ($333 with tax and shipping) that fits in the same footprint as my 32″, but is half the weight.

We (Jonathan and I) also relocated the swing arm mount so that not only can I watch from the couch, but it swings so I can watch from the bedroom, and as of the relocation, I can now watch from the kitchen as well:

Thursday and Friday morning filled with helping Jonathan move from his storage locker into an apartment. Upside is that it’s right next to the Two Bells Tavern, known for its burgers (which I order two for take-out):

With a Manhattan while I waited (and their house bourbon is Evan Williams Black!)

It was amazing to me that someone who was homeless two months ago could have so much stuff in storage. Thursday afternoon he filled the 14-foot UHaul to the top, and Friday’s load was another quarter of the same UHaul – all headed into a studio apartment:

Now imagine that space filled to the top – and here is what the apartment looks like now:

Kitchen above, living room below…

And doesn’t even show the three closets and the mechanics rolling tool chest in the hallway. Whew!

It being Halloween that means its shop duty time. It takes three of us to handle the crowds. Here are the stats from 5-7PM…

  • Out of our 130 wine and champagne glasses – we had 10 clean ones at the end of the day
  • Over 200 pieces of candy handed out
  • Four bottles of tasting wine emptied

Maybe it was my outfit…

Busy week – looking forward to relaxing next week.

[223.6]

Wed
5
Mar '14

Trip Report: Mileage Run To Boston.

Maybe the weather scared people into changing their plane reservations, because I can’t think of any other reason that I managed to get upgraded in both directions on my Boston mileage run. For those keeping track, that would be 4,974 flight miles. By mid-April I’ll have Silver for next year, shooting for MVP Gold which I’d need an additional 15,578 miles. Too bad my Bay Area trip was cancelled as with the double EQM (Elite Qualifying Miles) that would have been 2712 miles right there. Maybe I should just start doing West Coast mileage runs while the promotion is still running. That would only be six roundtrips. I can hear the Senor Colonel groaning just thinking about it.

Took the red-eye out Monday night to Boston. 10:05pm flight so that means dinner in the Board Room:

  • Red Baron, even though it isn’t morning
  • Italian Wedding Soup
  • Salad
  • Repeat

From lovely Seat 1D, looking a bit tired already and it’s just the first leg:

Not the most flattering picture – makes me look a tad dumpy. By the end of the flight I’d watched a movie, had a little pasta and salad snack, and drank them out of Scotch – had to have Jack as my final cocktail. Nope – didn’t sleep on the 4.5 hour flight.

Arrived in Boston a little before six and the return flight is 7:45, so there is a little time in the Delta Sky Club for a little breakfast. No booze since bars in Massachusetts don’t open until 8am, or at least the airport ones.

I’ll call this one… Sunrise Over Logan.

Got back on the same jet I flew in on (Boeing 737-900 with the new Sky Interior), though my seat had gone cold since it was 17 degrees outside. Starting to feel a little ragged.

Switch to Jack and Diet for the return flight. Scotch is just not a morning drink, even if you do mix it with milk which I think is disgusting. That said, here is the recipe for Scotch Milk Punch.

Got home a little before noon and this is how I spent my afternoon…

One more mileage run next week, back to Boston, but I’ll be spending the night.

[209.0]

Thu
30
Jan '14

Trip Report: Bozeman

This is an experiment in the style of one of the Colonels – the trip report rather than the day-by-day, blow-by-blow. Comments please.

Dateline Tuesday:

I love noon flights. You don’t have to get up early, lunch is set out in the Board Room when you get there, you don’t’ feel self-conscious having that cocktail like you might at 6am.

Speaking of the Board Room (the Alaska Airlines lounge), they’ve added these new “pods”.

Though you can’t see it from this angle, there are outlets on the other two sides – each of which has two outlets AND two USB ports. I want one for home!

I resisted the temptation to take a $300 voucher for a later flight via Salt Lake City – which in retrospect I should have since:

  1. I would have gotten double EQM (Elite Qualifying Miles) on Alaska as they are feuding with their Frienemy Delta (though I would have had crappy seats on both legs)
  2. Because of limited T-Mobile service in Bozeman and other issues, didn’t get to meet-up with HockeyBoy so arriving a couple of hours late wouldn’t have made any difference

Oh well – lesson learned.

My plane – painted in Boise State Broncos colors (last spring I printed graduation announcements for them):

On my arrival in lovely Bozeman I was surprised at how gorgeous their airport is – when has anyone described airports as gorgeous?

The ticketing area viewed from above. And below, waiting areas complete with gas fireplaces (I counted three):

Got to the Dollar Rent-A-Car counter only to be told that they were out of SUVs and that they had transferred my reservation to the Enterprise Rent-A-Car counter right next door. So, my $50 a day mid-size SUV (cheapest car you can rent in Bozeman according to my research) turned into this (for the same price):

A honkin’ 8-passenger leather lined, boat complete with 4 sets of headphones and a remote to go with the DVD entertainment system. You’d (well, I would have) have expected a navigation system, but oddly it wasn’t equipped with one (though I think there was satellite radio).

Got checked into the Day’s Inn, went back and forth with the boy who fell asleep so we never hooked up, had a late dinner I brought in from Dave’s Famous BBQ which I liked until I read the ingredients on a couple of their sauce packages, both which started with “High Fructuous Corn Syrup”, had a couple of cocktails and went to bed as tomorrow is an early day – of watching the boy play hockey at 6am.

This is there 1 pound rib-tip APPETIZER for $10.50. I had them put in extra sauce. I didn’t think it came with fries, but there they were. I got through about half of it – which means lunch and snacks for tomorrow.

Dateline Wednesday:

Sorry – no picture of the hockey game. I didn’t want to distract him since as he told me, and he was correct, that I’d be the only spectator at the game. I only stayed for a little bit for the same reason (and it was cold as shit) and headed back to the hotel for breakfast and a long nap.

Got a little shopping done in the afternoon (notions for the next sewing project, all at 50% off), along with some reading. Finally hooked up with the boy at almost 8pm for dinner – having spotty cell service and oddly working but slow internet makes is very frustrating to try and hook up – wish he’d have just picked up the phone and called the hotel. Maybe next time.

Dinner was at Burger Bobs – I had the steak salad and a Manhattan or two – HockeyBoy had the Bob’s All In Burger which comes with an egg, though he opted out of the bacon. Not much time with him but it was a great first date – the conversation was easy on flowing. Need to do some more of that.

The upside of all of this is that I got to watch the State of the Union address.

One ODD thing about this trip to Montana is that for the first time in a decade I’m not here to visit Steve who for 8 years was in prison is Shelby and then Deer Lodge, got out for a bit, didn’t take his meds, lost it, violated parole and is now back at Deer Lodge. Years ago he stopped communicating with BrightHeart (who he was lodging with when I met him while he was awaiting sentencing) I think because he thinks he let us down. These days I know where is he because the Montana Department of Prisons sends me updates every time they move him. He went into the can at 19 or 20, those formative years of adulthood without ever having a chance to mature. The meds I mentioned were basically the same meds that they prescribe to our soldiers for their PTSD. He is back at Deer Lodge after his “proxy marriage” which is allowed in five states (surprisingly California is one of them, the rest are Texas, Colorado, Montana, and Alabama) to a Russian woman dissolved and she was forced to go back to Russia — they had been living with Steve’s mother — under allegations of domestic abuse on his part. Back on his meds he started a house painting business (but couldn’t drive so he had to hire employees), got a girlfriend with a child and things were looking up so he stopped taking his meds and the same cycle started again — drinking, abuse, and he got popped driving. Probably blowing over the limit and back in the system he went. A sad story that I can’t change.

Dateline Thursday:

Today he is working – he’s off on the weekends, which is, of course, when I work, so off to the museums go I. First up is the Museum of the Rockies – home to a very large dinosaur bone collection since Montana is prime dino hunting ground.

First up was a stop at the lab where they are dremmelling out the bones from the rock:

Then to their exhibits (I felt like I was in the Museum of Natural History in Chicago):

Through a decent historical exhibit on Native American culture – no photographs allowed, and finally onto the culture early western life in Montana:

Discount admission because they are between exhibits – and a future discount with my AAA card — $10.50 (regularly $14).

Next up is the American Computer Museum which is located in an office park. It’s the first computer museum in the United States (Berlin has one that’s older) and only one of two in the US – and I’ve been to both of them in the last month!

Lots of autographed items from astronauts to the Apple & Microsoft founders – early computer legends and a very eclectic collection that apparently only 6% is on display. Some of my favorites:

The control board from a MinuteMan 1 rocket (in honor of the Colonels).

More punch card readers and related equipment.

And then there is Robby the Robot – the original.

The museum is free, and signage to get there is poor but worth searching out. I bought a lapel pin and gave them a donation.

Then it was off for a late lunch where the boy works… The Roost. It’s a hipster chicken place.

I had the fried chicken salad, which was excellent:

Only got to see the boy for a minute – it being the lunch rush as all – gave him my receipt to the Museum of the Rockies since its good for two days.

With that I was off to the airport – no offer of being bumped today (damnit). One person in front of me in the check-in line, nobody in the TSA-Pre line, though during the afternoon it’s just “expedited” which means shoes, belt and coat stay on, liquids (which were in my checked bag) and laptops out – and the metal detector rather than the body scanner.

Time for one last Manhattan – which I had to teach the bartender at the Copperhorse Restaurant how to make, she:

  1. Didn’t know the ingredients
  2. Didn’t know that “up” in the case of martinis and manhattans meant shaken over ice
  3. Didn’t know that a Manhattan goes in a Martini glass

But it was a good one (when you choose your own recipe it should be good) and she found some AMAZING cherries in the kitchen to go with it (apparently in Montana they don’t stock maraschino cherries at the bar). And the bar itself was pretty:

That is a brushed copper bar top. And she called the cherries “Bordeaux cherries” which I’d never heard of, but she brought three of them out for me. Doing a little research – seems that Oregon produces them for sale. Basically they are like the Luxardo cherries ($18 a jar at Madrona Wine Merchants rather than $23.77 with shipping from Amazon that we carry at the shop). Description here and cheaper than on Amazon.

And yes, she got a good tip.

Flight was on time – seat next to me which was empty when I checked in was full – luggage arrived with its wheels still on – found some 30-50% off ribeye steaks on Safeway’s markdown rack on the way home from the airport.

All is good.

[211.4 the following morning]

Sun
24
Jun '07

Disastrous Sunday.

Spent the morning finishing the trailer, complete with wiring for the lights, and a plywood floor. All that went well. Even had a lovely breakfast.

Then disaster struck. In my attempt to load the cutter onto the slanted trailer bed when something slipped, and send the 550 pound paper trimmer smashing down on its front — bye bye adjusting knob — and I may have just killed a two thousand dollar piece of equipment. Add to that the fact that I can’t get a hold of Ron to help me — have been trying since noon to track him down as per yesterday’s conversation. Ron and Robert have this bad habit of ignoring the phone… one wondering then why they have one.

If I can’t get some help I may have to just unhook the trailer and rope the bastard to the van and try and pull it up vertical so I can see what all is broken. Fuck.

Maybe I will go back to the city this evening. Load up the van and the trailer and just say to hell with the trimmer.

Time heals all?

Ron called, came over, and new frustrations emerged. I got the trimmer upright again by strapping it to the van with rope and putting it into drive. With two of us we wrestled onto the trailer, and drove over to his workshop — only to find that the trimmer is about an inch too big to get in the door. After struggling with it for most of an hour — we abandoned it under a tarp while Ron sees if it makes more sense to remove the door frame or just enclose a bit more of the shed.

One piece down, still the folder, punch, and the padding machine to go.

Lynne came over for cocktails (well, wine for Lynne) which turned into pupu’s of crackers, avocado’s stuffed with shrimp, sliced pork with a mustardy dipping sauce, and more wine. It was a really nice end to a really crappy day.

Wed
7
Aug '13

Project Day.

Today is a project day.

Fixed the back automatic gate – needed to rebolt everything. Still need to trim it down a little more:

Then it was back in the house to see if I could get the “shoebox” that came from the shop to work since it has two long runs which means I could have a second multi-line phone that the lights work on:

Ultimately the answer was no – my guess is that I’m no good at using the punch down tool and don’t know enough about the wiring to make it happen. Might be time to talk to someone from the telephone museum in Georgetown that’s only open Tuesday from 8:30-2. I’d love to get a couple more runs added to my working shoebox for fully functioning phones in the living room, kitchen and office.

Rest of the day was spent cleaning and tidying in preparation for Russ’ visit from New York tomorrow.

[207.6]

Mon
18
Mar '13

Of Wine, Status, And Miles

Big day in the wine world. As its Washington Wine Month, two of our distributors are showcasing their French Wines (well, a few Spanish and New World Wines thrown in).

Two hours of tasting (and nibbles) at the Corinthian Yacht Club (two floors, probably a couple of hundred bottles open) and then a half an hour drive to a warehouse for another couple of hours of tasting wines (small, probably a hundred bottles or so). I did try a local whiskey at the end – Tatoosh, not bad, but boutique bourbons and whiskeys run to the $35 a bottle range – a little rich for my blood.

After all the wine, whiskey, and food I had to go home and take a nap. Even with swirling, sipping, and spitting (unless it was over $50 wholesale, and there were a bunch of them) you still tend to get a bit of a buzz on, if only from a contact high.

As evening rolled around I checked to see if my miles had posted from both my Hong Kong trips. They did:

Now the decision is do I go for Gold for 2014 as I already have Silver. That would mean another 20,623 flight miles (two more trips to Hong Kong)by December 31st (or is it end of January for United). If I want million-miler status it would mean another 83,303 miles or six and a half trips to Hong Kong. Apparently Hong Kong is my new measuring stick.

At the moment it’s all for naught as I start working a week from today (a week before I thought, but money is money). Got email today with email setup instructions (mac shop so it still isn’t quite working) and my work calendar which showed me working next week through June 19th, with Friday the 29th of March off (to work the shop while Jim has company in town) and the four days in May for the cruise to LA with CaddyDaddy, DancingBear, Swanda, Jill, Punch, Fluffernutter and his Mom – still need to flesh out the whole list. I wonder how many of the people I’ve forgotten.

It should be interesting.

Another quiet evening around the house, trying to get stuff off my place – like getting the latest round of proofs of to one of my clients. Here is the back of their card (but without the proper icons for each of the categories):

With the last round of comments they wanted a QR Code on the front and a Tag Code on the back – which layout wish I did but told them it looked like crap, and provided one with both tags on the back which works much betters.

Wow, a regular job, and clients coming back.

Let the good times roll.

[208.8]

Sat
18
Aug '12

Faerie Fee Fund Auction Saturday.

The morning routine….

  • Sleep in
  • Get up
  • Make coffee
  • Brush teeth
  • Shower with the dirty glasses
  • Rinse and put them on the handicap grab bar to dry (lets air circulate in them)
  • Put the obnoxious wine goblets on the window still to dry
  • Make a brunch of meat and cheese

Afternoon routine….

  • Have a salad for lunch
  • Take a nap
  • Set out food for the cocktail party

Evening routine….

Well, this isn’t a routine evening as the Auction/Fashion show starts after my salad for dinner (to get some greens to go with all the meat and cheese from the cocktail party).

Can I restrain myself from buying anything? Well, didn’t spend much. Just $20 that I was owed by the Faerie Fee Fund anyway. It was the set of boxes from four of the Breitenbush male staff members doing their version on the Saturday Night Live “Dick In A Box” skit.

It was a hoot.

Back to the cabin for another Punch & Ham show.

[? ? ?]

 

[? ? ?]

Mon
24
Oct '11

Back On The Boat

Just one more picture from last night. I packed a leather punch so that a belt that I gave CrowDog would finally fit around his skinny little waste. That is beadwork sewn onto buckskin making a pretty striking rodeo style belt buckle. I picked up several years ago at the Faerie Bazaar from Clyde Hall, a first nation’s person from Idaho, but the piece is from Leanne Chappell, she a member of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes.

The boys and I were out of the condo on the dot of noon, and headed to the coffee shop and the comfy chairs (and the 10% discount because we are staying at the WorldMark). I stashed my luggage back at the WorldMark, and Lunetta and Onyx brought theirs along as they are taking the bus to the airport (about an hour and a half, but only $2.50 each). As for me, I hung at the coffee shop for a couple of hours, then went off to lunch and had a lovely ceviche at Santiago’s Café close to the ferry terminal. The only book I managed to bring was Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey, which aside from a lack of attention to line breaks in chapter heading, I found to be an informative read. Now I just have to figure out how to circulate it amongst all my bourbon aficionado friends because at $22.95 ($20.66 for the Kindle edition) it’s a bit overpriced.

No trouble with immigration, the boat ride, or customs on the other end. Actually customs conversation was as follows:

Them: How are you doing tonight?

Me: Tired.

Them: Any gifts?

Me: No.

Them: Have a nice evening.

Short and sweet. No asking about what I’m bringing back, nothing. Just jumped in a cab and $32 later I’m home.

[? ? ?]